Electronic apparatus, display control method for the electronic apparatus, graphical user interface, and display control program

ABSTRACT

An electronic apparatus, display control method thereof, graphical user interface, and display control program are provided. The electronic apparatus includes a total-number obtaining unit to obtain information about a total number of items to be provided from a source; a first display unit to display undetermined representation images on a screen if it is determined that some of the representation images displayed on the screen have been changed, the undetermined representation images being generated based on the total number obtained by the total-number obtaining unit so that the respective undetermined representation images correspond to the total number of the items to be provided; a determining unit to determine whether change of the representation images displayed on the screen has stopped; and a second display unit to display the representation images by obtaining, from the source, information to display the representation images to be newly displayed on the screen if the determining unit determines that change of the representation images displayed on the screen has stopped.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Japanese Patent ApplicationsJP 2005-266251 and JP 2005-279101 filed in the Japanese Patent Office onSep. 14, 2005 and Sep. 27, 2005, respectively, the entire contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus, a displaycontrol method for the electronic apparatus, a graphical user interface,and a display control program to display many items to be provided, suchas content and functions, on a screen so that a user can select one ofthe items.

Media used to provide image or music content have diversified, and typesand amount of provided content have been increasing. Furthermore,mass-storage hard disk devices and semiconductor memories have been usedas storage media (content storing units) to store the content, so thatvarious types of and a large amount of content can be provided.

Conventionally, a so-called multimedia playback apparatus capable ofplaying back content stored in various media has been proposed (e.g.,see Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationPublication No. 11-73428).

Also, the following system has been available. That is, in the system,an electronic apparatus functioning as a content playback apparatus isconnected to a personal computer or a server to store video content ormusic content through a network, such as a LAN (local area network). Theelectronic apparatus can obtain the content from the personal computeror the server and play back the content.

The above-described electronic apparatus having a content playbackfunction should desirably have a graphical user interface enabling auser to quickly search for content to be played back.

In such a type of graphical user interface, a menu listingrepresentation images to represent respective pieces of content bytitles or thumbnails is displayed on a screen as items to be selected bya user, so that the user can select a desired piece of content throughthe display.

In this case, the representation images are displayed by obtainingaccompanying information (meta-information), such as content titles orthumbnails, from a storage medium serving as a content providing source.Thus, if much time takes to obtain the meta-information, it is difficultto quickly provide a user with representation images to select content.

In particular, when representation images of content are displayed byobtaining the meta-information from a storage medium, such as a personalcomputer or a server, connected to the electronic apparatus through anetwork, it is difficult in the electronic apparatus to quickly displayall of the representation images of the content if network delay occurs.

In a conventionally-adopted method, representation images of contentfound through a network are sequentially displayed in the electronicapparatus immediately after each of the images are found so that a usercan recognize the content stored in an apparatus connected through thenetwork without stress.

In this method, however, if the user wants to select the last piece ofthe content stored in the apparatus connected through the network, theuser can select the last piece of the content only aftermeta-information about all pieces of the content has been obtained andthe representation images thereof have been displayed.

For example, assume that it takes t seconds to obtain meta-informationof one piece of content. In that case, it takes n×t seconds to obtainmeta-information of n pieces of the content. The user has to wait forthis time period before selecting a piece of the content.

SUMMARY

The present application has been made in view of the above-describedcircumstances and is directed to providing a graphical user interfaceenabling a user to quickly select an item to be provided.

According to an embodiment, there is provided an electronic apparatus todisplay some of representation images representing a plurality of itemsto be provided from a source on a screen in a line as items to beselected and to change some of the representation images displayed onthe screen in accordance with a user's operation input through a useroperation accepting unit. The electronic apparatus includes atotal-number obtaining unit configured to obtain information about atotal number of the items to be provided from the source; a firstdisplay unit configured to display undetermined representation images onthe screen instead of the representation images which are to be newlydisplayed on the screen if it is determined that some of therepresentation images displayed on the screen have been changed, theundetermined representation images being generated on the basis of thetotal number obtained by the total-number obtaining unit so that therespective undetermined representation images correspond to the totalnumber of the items to be provided; a determining unit configured todetermine whether change of the representation images displayed on thescreen performed by the user's operation has stopped; and a seconddisplay unit configured to display the respective representation imagesby obtaining, from the source, information to display the representationimages to be newly displayed on the screen if the determining unitdetermines that change of the representation images displayed on thescreen performed by the user's operation has stopped.

In the electronic apparatus having the above-described configuration,information about the total number of the items to be provided isobtained from the source before representation images representing aplurality of items to be provided from the source are displayed on thescreen.

Then, undetermined representation images corresponding to the totalnumber of the items to be provided generated on the basis of the totalnumber are displayed instead of the representation images of the itemsto be provided. The user can select an item to be provided by using theundetermined representation images.

After the user stops changing the representation images displayed on thescreen so as to select an item to be provided, the electronic apparatusobtains information used to display detailed representation images ofthe items to be provided from the source and displays the representationimages by using the obtained information by erasing the undeterminedrepresentation images.

According to the embodiment, undetermined representation images can bedisplayed and selection of an item to be provided can be accepted byusing the undetermined representation images even if representationimages to be displayed on the screen have not been prepared.

In that case, after the user has stopped selecting an item to beprovided using the undetermined representation images and after therepresentation images to be displayed on the screen have beendetermined, information to display the representation images to be newlydisplayed is obtained from the source, so that the representation imagesare displayed.

Even if all of the representation images displayed on the screen arechanged, the number of all of the representation images is that forbeing displayed on only one screen, and thus the information can bequickly obtained and the representation images can be quickly displayedso as to accept selection by the user.

According to an embodiment, undetermined representation images aredisplayed when representation images of items to be provided are notready to be displayed on the screen, so that selection of an item can beaccepted by using the undetermined representation images.

The information used to display the representation images obtained fromthe source is information corresponding to the representation imagesthat can be displayed on only one screen. Therefore, the information canbe obtained in a short time and the representation images can be quicklydisplayed so as to accept selection by the user.

Additional features and advantages are described herein, and will beapparent from, the following Detailed Description and the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configurationof a broadcast receiving apparatus serving as an electronic apparatusaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a configuration of a network system includingthe electronic apparatus.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a graphical user interface screen accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows another example of the graphical user interface screenaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows another example of the graphical user interface screenaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows another example of the graphical user interface screenaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows another example of the graphical user interface screenaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows another example of the graphical user interface screenaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a part of a flowchart illustrating a process performed in thegraphical user interface screen according to an embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a part of the flowchart illustrating the process performed inthe graphical user interface screen according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a part of the flowchart illustrating the process performed inthe graphical user interface screen according to an embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a part of the flowchart illustrating the process performed inthe graphical user interface screen according to an embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a part of the flowchart illustrating the process performed inthe graphical user interface screen according to an embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a part of a flowchart illustrating a process performed in thegraphical user interface screen according to another embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a part of the flowchart illustrating the process performed inthe graphical user interface screen according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment isdescribed with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, theelectronic apparatus is applied to a broadcast receiving apparatuscapable of receiving broadcast signals from a plurality of types ofbroadcasting media. The broadcast receiving apparatus connects toanother apparatus through a network and is capable of playing back videocontent and music content supplied from the other apparatus. In theembodiment described below, icons are used as representation images.

Herein, “content” includes text, figure, color, audio, action, or videodata of a movie, music, drama, literature, photograph, comic, animation,computer game, and so on, or a combination thereof, or a program toprovide information about the data through an electronic computer. Thecontent belongs to a field of culture or entertainment among worksgenerated by creative human activities.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configurationof a broadcast receiving apparatus 10, which is the electronic apparatusaccording to the embodiment.

The broadcast receiving apparatus 10 includes various broadcastreceivers, an image display unit, an audio output unit, and an operationinput unit (described below), which connect to a system bus 2 connectingto a controller 1 including a microcomputer.

More specifically, in this embodiment, the various broadcast receiversinclude an analog terrestrial broadcast receiver 11, a digitalterrestrial broadcast receive 12, a BS broadcast receiver 13, and a CSbroadcast receiver 14. These receivers connect to the bus 2 viainterfaces 15, 16, 17, and 18 for the broadcast receivers, respectively.

The analog terrestrial broadcast receiver 11 selectively receivescurrent analog terrestrial television broadcast signals and outputsimage (video) and audio signals to the system bus 2 via the interface15.

The digital terrestrial broadcast receiver 12 is compatible with digitaltelevision broadcasting, digital audio broadcasting, and databroadcasting. The receiver 12 selectively receives and decodes abroadcast program in accordance with a selection by a user, and outputsimage (video) and audio signals and data such as EPG (electronicprogramming guide) data to the system bus 2 via the interface 16.

The BS broadcast receiver 13 is compatible with BS televisionbroadcasting, BS audio broadcasting, and data broadcasting. The receiver13 selectively receives and decodes a broadcast program in accordancewith a selection by a user, and outputs image (video) and audio signalsand data such as EPG data to the system bus 2 via the interface 17.

The CS broadcast receiver 14 is compatible with CS televisionbroadcasting, CS audio broadcasting, and data broadcasting. The receiver14 selectively receives and decodes a broadcast program in accordancewith a selection by a user, and outputs image (video) and audio signalsand data such as EPG data to the system bus 2 via the interface 18.

As the image display unit, a monitor display 19 including a CRT (cathoderay tube) or an LCD (liquid crystal display) connects to the system bus2 via a display interface 20. As the audio output unit, a speaker 22connects to the system bus 2 via an audio output interface 21.

As the operation input unit, a remote-control transmitter 23 isprovided. A remote-control receiver 24 to receive operation signals fromthe remote-control transmitter 23 connects to the system bus 2. In thisembodiment, the remote-control transmitter 23 includes at least rightand left buttons, up and down buttons, a home button, and a set button.An operation of these buttons on the remote-control transmitter 23performed by a user causes selection on a graphical user interfacescreen.

As the right and left buttons and the up and down buttons, a crossbutton or a joystick can be used.

The system bus 2 also connects to a memory card drive 25, a clock 26, anexternal input/output interface 27, a network interface 28, a displayimage generating/outputting unit 30, a display data storing unit 29, andan EPG data holder 31.

Although not shown, the controller 1 includes a CPU (central processingunit), a program ROM (read only memory), and a work area RAM (randomaccess memory), and executes various control processes by using the workarea RAM in accordance with a program written in the program ROM.

Each of the broadcast receivers 11 to 14 selects a broadcast programfrom among broadcast signals received by an antenna (not shown), inaccordance with a selecting operation input by a user via theremote-control transmitter 23. Then, the broadcast receiver transmitsimage and audio data of the selected broadcast program or data receivedthrough data broadcasting to the system bus 2.

In the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 according to this embodiment, abroadcast program is provided to a user from any one of the broadcastreceivers 11 to 14. Whether which of the broadcast receivers 11 to 14 isselected depends on a selecting operation performed on theremote-control transmitter 23 through a graphical user interface(described below).

The memory card drive 25 reads data from a memory card 40 insertedthereto or writes data on the memory card 40. In the apparatus shown inFIG. 1, various types of memory cards can be used to write/read data.

The clock 26 provides information about current time and calendarinformation. Also, the clock 26 is used to reserve and set a broadcastprogram and to count time in accordance with various reservationsettings.

The external input/output interface 27 includes external input/outputterminals, e.g., video input/output terminals, audio input/outputterminals, and a USB (universal serial bus) terminal, so that signalsare transmitted/received between the respective input/output terminalsand the system bus 2.

The network interface 28 connects to a home network LAN (local areanetwork) 50 in this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of anetwork system to which the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 accordingto this embodiment is connected. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2,the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 connects to a personal computer 60and a server 70 through the home network 50 based on a standard of DLNA(digital living network alliance).

The personal computer 60 and the server 70 include content storing units60S and 70S to store video and music content and so on, respectively.The personal computer 60 and the server 70 have a function to notify thebroadcast receiving apparatus 10 of the total number of pieces ofcontent stored in the content storing unit 60S or 70S when asked by thebroadcast receiving apparatus 10.

Also, the personal computer 60 and the server 70 have a function totransmit meta-information to the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 whenreceiving a request for obtaining the meta-information used to displayrepresentation images from the broadcast receiving apparatus 10. Themeta-information includes information of icon images as representationimages of requested pieces of content among the pieces of content storedin the content storing unit 60S or 70S and accompanying information forexplanation (e.g., information about titles and a compression method).

For example, if photo content is requested, thumbnails thereof aretransmitted as icon images to the broadcast receiving apparatus 10. Ifmusic content recorded on CDs is requested, thumbnails of jacket imagesof the CDs are transmitted.

Also, the personal computer 60 and the server 70 have a function to readdata (video or music data) of content from the content storing unit 60Sor 70S and transmit the data to the broadcast receiving apparatus 10through the network 50 upon receiving a request for the content from thebroadcast receiving apparatus 10.

The display data storing unit 29 stores data to be displayed, such asdata of icons constituting the graphical user interface (describedbelow), data used to display channels, and other character data.Although not shown, the display data storing unit 29 includes a cachebuffer to temporarily store meta-information received from the personalcomputer 60 or the server 70 through the network 50.

The display image generating/outputting unit 30 generates images to bedisplayed on the monitor display 19 under control by the controller 1,and functions as a display control unit in cooperation with thecontroller 1.

The display image generating/outputting unit 30 stores image data andmusic data transmitted from the broadcast receivers 11 to 14 in anoutput buffer provided therein. Also, the display imagegenerating/outputting unit 30 obtains data used to display charactersand symbols for the graphical user interface from the display datastoring unit 29 and stores the obtained data as on-screen display datain an on-screen buffer provided therein. The on-screen display data isdisplayed while being superimposed on a played back image displayed onthe monitor display 19. At this time, the played back image is seenthrough the superimposed image, such as a graphical user interfaceimage.

Then, the display image generating/outputting unit 30 supplies compositedata including the data stored in the output buffer and the on-screendisplay data stored in the on-screen buffer to the monitor display 19via the display interface 20.

The EPG data holder 31 holds data of an electronic programming guide(EPG data) in a memory provide therein. As the EPG data, datasuperimposed during a vertical blanking time of a television broadcastsignal is used in analog terrestrial broadcasting, whereas datatransmitted through data broadcasting is used in digital broadcasting.The EPG data includes information about the names of broadcast stationsproviding respective broadcast programs, the names of the broadcastprograms, start time and end time of the programs, casts, and the genreof the programs.

The EPG data holder 31 holds EPG data received from each of thebroadcast receivers 11 to 14 in the memory. The EPG data held in the EPGdata holder 31 is updated so that the latest data can be provided.

Instead of using EPG data transmitted while being superimposed on abroadcast signal, EPG data can be obtained from an EPG data providingserver by accessing the EPG data providing server connected to theInternet by using the network interface 28.

<Description of the Graphical User Interface According to theEmbodiment>

In the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 according to this embodiment, auser can easily select a broadcast medium, a broadcast program, orvarious functions by using the graphical user interface.

The graphical user interface according to this embodiment includes aplurality of icons and explanatory information thereof that can beselected or specified by a user by operating a predetermined button keyof the remote-control transmitter 23.

The icons to be displayed on the monitor display 19 include categoryicons representing categories of processing functions or target to beprocessed, such as broadcast media, setting functions, and externalinput; and item icons representing processing function items and itemsof content to be processed belonging to each category (thus, the itemicons are in a lower layer).

In this embodiment, as categories represented by category icons, thefollowing eight types are set in advance: “setting”, “video”, “photo”,“music”, “terrestrial broadcasting”, “BS broadcasting”, “CSbroadcasting”, and “external input”. Data of these eight category iconsis stored in the display data storing unit 29.

The number of item icons in a lower-layer of each category, the itemicons representing processing function items or items of content to beprocessed, differs in each category.

For example, item icons of a plurality of items, such as “setting oftelevision”, “setting of external input”, and “setting of photo”, belongto the category “setting”.

The category “photo” relates to photo content. Item icons representingstoring units for the photo content, such as “personal computer”,“server”, “memory card”, “sample”, and “mixed media”, directly belong tothis category.

The category “music” relates to music content. Item icons representingstoring units for the music content, such as “personal computer” and“server”, directly belong to this category.

The item icons “personal computer” and “server” belonging to thecategory “photo” or “music” have lower-layer item icons representingcontent stored in the content storing units 60S and 70S of the personalcomputer 60 and the server 70.

In the respective categories of broadcast media, item icons representingbroadcast channels or the like are provided while being grouped intotypes of broadcasting, such as television, radio, and data.

In this case, information used to display the item icons to be held bythe broadcast receiving apparatus 10 is generated by the broadcastreceiving apparatus 10 and is stored in the display data storing unit29. On the other hand, information used to display the item icons of thecontent held by the personal computer 60 or the server 70 connectedthrough the network 50 is obtained from the personal computer 60 or theserver 70. In this case, the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 maygenerate information used to display those item icons on the basis ofthe information obtained from the personal computer 60 or the server 70.

FIG. 3 shows an example of an initial menu screen of a graphical userinterface screen displayed on a screen 19D of the monitor display 19 inthis embodiment. In this embodiment, the graphical user interface screenappears on the screen 19D or disappears therefrom upon operation on thehome button provided on the remote-control transmitter 23 in theoperation input unit.

A two-dimensional array is displayed on this initial menu screen. In thetwo-dimensional array, a category-icon array 100 where a plurality ofcategory icons are aligned in the horizontal direction and an item-iconarray 200 where a plurality of item icons are aligned in the verticaldirection cross each other at the vicinity of the center of the screen.

The category-icon array 100 includes the above-described eight types ofaligned category icons. More specifically, in FIG. 3, an icon 41 havinga figure of a tool box is a category icon of “setting”; an icon 42having a figure of a film is a category icon of “video”; an icon 43having a figure of a camera is a category icon of “photo”; an icon 44having a figure of a musical note is a category icon of “music”; an icon45 including a figure of a tower is a category icon of “digitalterrestrial broadcasting”; an icon 46 including characters “BS” is acategory icon of “BS digital broadcasting”; an icon 47 includingcharacters “CS” is a category icon of “CS digital broadcasting”; and anicon 48 including a lateral arrow is a category icon of “externalinput”.

As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the category-icon array 100 isdisplayed in the horizontal direction little above the center in thevertical direction of the screen 19D of the monitor display 19. Any oneof the eight category icons 41 to 48 is constantly selected and theselected category icon is emphasized, that is, a little larger than theother category icons. Accordingly, the user can recognize the selectedicon. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the category icon 43 “photo” isselected. As shown in FIG. 3, the title of the category represented bythe category icon is displayed under the selected category icon.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the graphical user interface screen according tothis embodiment, all of the eight category icons are constantlydisplayed, whereas the item-icon array 200 is displayed only for theselected category icon among the eight category icons.

Accordingly, the initial menu of the graphical user interface of thisembodiment is constituted by the category-icon array 100 and theitem-icon array 200 crossing each other.

In the item-icon array 200, some of item icons representing respectiveitems belonging to the category corresponding to the selected categoryicon are aligned. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the category icon 43“photo” is selected, and thus item icons 201, 202, and 203 belonging tothe category icon 43 “photo” are aligned in the vertical direction asthe item-icon array 200.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the item icon 201 represents thepersonal computer 60 serving as a storage unit, the item icon 202represents the server 70 serving as a storage unit, and the item icon203 represents the memory card 40 serving as a storage unit.

In the item-icon array 200 shown in FIG. 3, no item icon is displayedabove the category-icon array 100. This is because the number of itemsbelonging to the category “photo” is small. If many items belong to thecategory, item icons are aligned in the vertical direction also abovethe category-icon array 100. As described below, item icons appear abovethe category-icon array 100 when the selected item icon changes.

If many lower-layer items belong to a category, as in the category icons45 to 47 of broadcast media and the category icon 48 of external input,it is difficult to display all of the lower-layer items of the selectedcategory at one time on the screen 19D due to the size of the screen ofthe monitor display 19. Thus, only part of the item icons belonging tothe selected category is displayed as the item-icon array 200 on thescreen 19D.

This is the same for the case where many pieces of content are stored inthe personal computer 60 or the server 70. That is, it is difficult todisplay all item icons consisting of representation images representingthe respective pieces of content stored in the personal computer 60 orthe server 70 at one time on the screen 19D. Thus, only part of the itemicons representing the content stored in the selected content storingunit is displayed on the screen 19D.

The graphical user interface screen according to this embodiment isdisplayed in an on-screen manner. That is, the graphical user interfacescreen is displayed while being superimposed on an image of videocontent displayed on the screen 19D such that the video content imagecan be seen through the screen. In other words, when a broadcast programis being watched in the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 or when imagestaken by a camera are being played back, the graphical user interfacescreen is displayed such that the image can be seen through the screen.

Optionally, the entire area of the category-icon array 100 and theitem-icon array 200 defined by dotted lines may be colored so that thearea can be easily distinguished from a background area of the screen19D, or the brightness of content images may be adjustable so that thegraphical user interface can be clearly seen. Of course, only thecategory icons and item icons may be displayed without coloring the areaor adjusting the brightness.

In the initial menu screen of the graphical user interface screenaccording to this embodiment, the category-icon array 100 does not movein the vertical direction of the screen 19D, but is fixed at a positionlittle above the center in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 3.In this embodiment, a selected category icon is positioned in anintersection area 100C between the category-icon array 100 and theitem-icon array 200. The intersection area 100C is also fixed on thescreen 19D. As described above, a category title is displayed under thecategory icon positioned in the intersection area 100C.

When the user performs an operation of selecting another category iconby pressing the right or left button of the remote-control transmitter23, the entire category-icon array 100 is scrolled to the right or leftin accordance with a command from the remote-control transmitter 23, sothat another category icon comes to the intersection area 100C as aselected category icon.

The controller 1 recognizes the category icon displayed in theintersection area 100C, that is, the category selected by the user.

Likewise, the item-icon array 200 does not move in the horizontaldirection, and is fixed on the left side with respect to the center inthe horizontal direction, as shown in FIG. 3. However, a plurality ofitem icons in the item-icon array 200 can be scrolled in the verticaldirection in accordance with a command from the user provided throughthe up or down button of the remote-control transmitter 23 serving asthe operation input unit.

As described above, the position in the vertical direction of thecategory-icon array 100, in which the category icons 41 to 48 arealigned in the horizontal direction, is fixed. Also, the position in thehorizontal direction of the item-icon array 200, in which a plurality ofitem icons are aligned in the vertical direction, is fixed. Accordingly,the intersection area 100C between the category-icon array 100 and theitem-icon array 200 is fixed at a position diagonally upward left withrespect to the center of the screen 19D.

In this embodiment, an area 200C immediately under the intersection area100C is an area for an item icon selected by the user among a pluralityof item icons in the item-icon array 200. That is, in this embodiment,the controller 1 regards the item icon displayed in the area 200C(hereinafter referred to as a target area) as a selected item icon(hereinafter, the selected item icon is referred to as a target itemicon), and also recognizes the selected item.

According to the above-described layout in the graphical user interface,the target area 200C is positioned at almost the center of the screen19D. The target item icon displayed in the target area 200C ishighlighted so that it can be distinguished from the other item icons.In this example, the target item icon is surrounded by a square frame200MK colored by a striking color, such as yellow.

The highlighting method used here is not limited to surrounding thetarget item icon by the square frame 200MK. For example, as the categoryicons, the target item icon may be colored with a different color fromthat of the other item icons, or may be enlarged or blinked.

As described above, in this embodiment, the category icon displayed inthe fixed intersection area 100C is regarded as a selected icon, and theitem icon displayed in the target area 200C immediately under theintersection area 100C is regarded as a target item icon.

With this configuration, when the user wants to select a category, theuser scrolls the category-icon array 100 in the horizontal direction soas to place a category icon corresponding to a desired category in theintersection area 100C. Therefore, the user does not need to operate theset button to select the category. This is because, when the selectedcategory icon is positioned in the intersection area 100C, the item-iconarray 200 representing a plurality of items belonging to the selectedcategory automatically appears.

Therefore, the user can select a category simply by operating the rightor left button, and he/she does not need to perform an operation likethat performed in a personal computer, e.g., clicking a fixed icon on ascreen with a mouse. In this method, the user can easily make selectioneven if he/she is not familiar with operating a personal computer.

The respective category icons may be displayed in the same color andsame size while they are scrolled in the horizontal direction. Then,after the horizontal scroll has stopped and one of the category iconshas been set in the intersection area 100C, the color or size of theselected icon may be changed so as to be highlighted.

The color may be changed by changing an element of the category icon,e.g., brightness, chroma, or hue, or by blinking the icon. In this way,the category icon positioned in the intersection area 100C is displayedin a form different from that of the other category icons, and thus theuser can easily select the category.

Alternatively, the following method can be adopted. When any categoryicon is not positioned in the intersection area 100C during scroll inthe horizontal direction of the category icons, the item-icon array 200is not displayed. In that case, the item-icon array 200 may appear aboveand below the intersection area 100C after any of the category icons hasbeen set in the intersection area 100C.

The user can recognize items belonging to the category displayed in theintersection area 100C simply by scrolling the category icons in thehorizontal direction while regarding the intersection area 100C as atarget position. Also, the category can be recognized on the basis of aplurality of items appeared on the screen.

Incidentally, if the right or left button of the remote-controltransmitter 23 is pressed under a state where the item-icon array 200 isdisplayed, the item-icon array 200 can be drawn into the intersectionarea 100C.

On the other hand, when the user wants to select an item from amonglower-layer items of the selected category, he/she scrolls the item-iconarray 200 in the vertical direction so as to set an item iconcorresponding to a desired item in the target area 200C.

More specifically, the items icons in the item-icon array 200 arescrolled in the vertical direction of the screen 19D in accordance withinstructions from the user through the up or down button of theremote-control transmitter 23, and accordingly, the item icon positionedin the target area 200C immediately under the intersection area 100Cchanges. If the user operates the set button of the remote-controltransmitter 23 when the item icon of a desired item is positioned in thetarget area 200C, the controller 1 of the broadcast receiving apparatus10 erases the graphical user interface so that a process of the selecteditem can be executed.

Note that, if further lower-layer items belong to the item iconpositioned in the target area 200C, the lower-layer items are displayedon the screen 19D in accordance with an operation of the set button.Examples of such a case include when the above-described personalcomputer item icon 201 is selected or when the server item icon 202 isselected.

That is, lower-layer items are defined in the item icon 201 “PC”(personal computer) in the example shown in FIG. 3. Thus, if the setbutton of the remote-control transmitter 23 is operated in the screenshown in FIG. 3, the graphical user interface on the screen 19D displaysitem icons of a plurality of personal computers (not shown) if thenetwork 50 connects to the plurality of personal computers so that oneof the plurality of personal computers can be selected.

At this time, although not shown in the figure, the category-icon array100 except the selected category icon disappears from the screen 19D,and the item-icon array 200 moves to the left end of the screen 19D sothat a space is generated on the right side thereof. Then, the pluralityof lower-layer item icons are displayed in this space. Morespecifically, item icons representing the respective personal computers(see personal computers PC1, PC2, PC3, PC4, and PC5 shown in FIG. 4) arevertically aligned and explanatory information about the itemscorresponding to the respective item icons is displayed.

Then, under a state where one of the personal computers has beenselected and the corresponding icon is surrounded by the square frame200MK, if the set button of the remote-control transmitter 23 isoperated, the screen shown in FIG. 4 appears on the graphical userinterface.

In FIG. 4, an icon drawn with solid lines is an item icon of theselected personal computer PC1. The other icons drawn with dotted linesare item icons of the other personal computers PC2, PC3, PC4, and PC5that connect to the network 50 but that are not selected. In FIG. 4,triangle marks 211 and 212 represent a hierarchical relationship.

As shown in FIG. 4, after the item icon of the personal computer PC1 hasbeen selected and the set button has been operated, only undeterminedicons 80 as undetermined representation images are displayed on thegraphical user interface screen.

Before displaying the undetermined icons 80, at the time when the itemicon of the personal computer PC1 as a source of content is selected andthe set button is operated, the controller 1 asks the personal computerPC1 the total number of pieces of content stored therein and obtainsinformation about the total number transmitted from the personalcomputer PC1.

Then, the controller 1 recognizes the total number of undetermined icons80 to be displayed on the graphical user interface screen on the basisof the received information, assigns numbers to the respectiveundetermined icons 80, and displays the numbers in the icons, as shownin FIG. 4.

The numbers assigned to the undetermined icons 80 correspond to astoring order or a reading order of the content in the content storingunit 60S of the selected personal computer as a source of the content.When information of the numbers assigned to the undetermined icons 80 istransmitted from the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 to the selectedpersonal computer PC1 as a source of the content, the personal computerPC1 recognizes that pieces of content corresponding to the numbers havebeen specified.

Therefore, the selected personal computer serving as a source of contentmay deal with each content number transmitted from the broadcastreceiving apparatus 10 as a specific number so as to recognize eachpiece of content. In this case, however, each content number should beconstantly recognized as a specific number having the same meaning. Thisis because the user can recognize which content is transmitted in whichorder by obtaining content from the same personal computer severaltimes.

If the user selects a desired piece of content on the screen displayingthe undetermined icons 80 as shown in FIG. 4, the undetermined icons 80serving as item icons of pieces of content are scrolled in the verticaldirection, so that the target item icon positioned in the square frame200MK changes.

However, if a state where the user does not select any piece of contentand the target item icon surrounded by the square frame 200MK does notchange, that is, where the plurality of item icons displayed on thescreen 19D are not scrolled, continues for a predetermined time T, thecontroller 1 transmits a meta-information obtaining request, whichincludes number information of the undetermined icons displayed on thescreen 19D, to the personal computer serving as a source of the content,in order to display item icons including detailed information aboutcontent corresponding to the undetermined icons displayed on the screen19D. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a meta-information obtainingrequest including number information “1” to “5” is transmitted to thepersonal computer serving as a source of the content.

The personal computer receives the request and transmitsmeta-information of the content corresponding to the number information(in this example, thumbnails, compression method, titles, andidentification numbers of photo content) to the broadcast receivingapparatus 10.

The broadcast receiving apparatus 10 receives the meta-information.Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the apparatus 10 replaces the undeterminedicons 80 by item icons 90 and explanations 91 thereof in the graphicaluser interface on the screen 19D. In the example shown in FIG. 5, theitem icons 90 consist of thumbnails of photo content.

Then, the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 stores the meta-informationreceived from the personal computer in the cache buffer of the displaydata storing unit 29 while checking a free area of the buffer. If thereis no free area, the oldest piece of meta-information is deleted togenerate a free area so that newly-obtained meta-information can bewritten therein.

The meta-information stored in the cache buffer is used to replace theundetermined icons 80 by the item icons 90 and the explanations 91. Thatis, in this embodiment, if the controller 1 of the broadcast receivingapparatus 10 detects that a state where the plurality of item iconsdisplayed on the screen 19D are not scrolled has continued for thepredetermined time T, the controller 1 determines whether the cachebuffer stores meta-information used to display item icons includingdetailed information about the content corresponding to the undeterminedicons 80 displayed on the screen 19D.

If the controller 1 determines that the meta-information is stored inthe cache buffer, the controller 1 obtains the meta-information from thecache buffer, so that replacement of the undetermined icons 80 with theitem icons 90 can be performed more quickly.

If meta-information about part of the undetermined icons 80 displayed onthe screen 19D is not stored in the cache buffer, a meta-informationobtaining request including number information of those undeterminedicons is transmitted to the personal computer as a source of the contentso as to obtain the meta-information.

Under a state where the graphical user interface screen shown in FIG. 5is displayed, if the user operates the down button of the remote-controltransmitter 23 so as to change the target item icon, the item icons 90are scrolled upward on the screen 19D, as shown in FIG. 6. Accordingly,undetermined icons 80 representing other pieces of content are displayedon a lower side of the screen 19D.

If a state where the target item icon surrounded by the square frame200MK does not change, that is, where the plurality of item iconsdisplayed on the screen 19D are not scrolled, continues for thepredetermined time T, and if the controller 1 determines thatmeta-information used to display the item icons 90 corresponding to thecontent represented by the newly-displayed undetermined icons 80 is notstored in the cache buffer, the controller 1 transmits a request forobtaining the meta-information together with number information of thedisplayed undetermined icons 80 to the personal computer serving as asource of the content.

As described above, the personal computer receives the request forobtaining the meta-information and transmits the meta-information aboutthe content corresponding to the number information to the broadcastreceiving apparatus 10, so that the broadcast receiving apparatus 10receives the meta-information. Then, the broadcast receiving apparatus10 replaces the undetermined icons 80 with item icons 90 consisting ofthumbnails and explanations 91 by using the obtained meta-informationand stores the meta-information in the cache buffer.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, the user scrolls the item icons only alittle, so that only some of the displayed item icons have changed toundetermined icons 80. Thus, the meta-information about the contentrepresented by the newly displayed undetermined icons 80 on the screen19D is requested to the personal computer serving as a source of thecontent.

On the other hand, if scroll of the item icons is stopped for thepredetermined time T after the item icons have continuously beenscrolled for the predetermined time T and all of the icons representingcontent displayed on the screen 19D have changed to undetermined icons80, meta-information about the content corresponding to the numbers ofall of the undetermined icons 80 displayed on the screen 19D isrequested to the personal computer serving as a source of the content.

In this embodiment, the meta-information received from the personalcomputer is stored in the cache buffer of the display data storing unit29. Thus, when the user performs an operation of moving the target itemicon to the content side where the item icons 90 and the explanations 91are displayed and when no undetermined icon is displayed on the screen19D, the item icons 90 and the explanations 91 after the movement areimmediately displayed by using the meta-information read from the cachebuffer.

In this embodiment, the item icons can be scrolled at high speed so thatcontent can be quickly searched for. For example, if the user keeps theup or down button of the remote-control transmitter 23 pressed for along time, the item icons are scrolled at high speed in the directioncorresponding to the pressed button.

If the target item icon is changed by the high-speed scroll to thecontent whose meta-information has not been obtained from the personalcomputer, undetermined icons are displayed on the screen at thehigh-speed scroll.

After the high-speed scroll, if the user stops the operation at the iconhaving a number 103 as shown in FIG. 7 and if a state where the targetitem icon does not change continues for the predetermined time T ormore, a meta-information obtaining request including number informationof the undetermined icons 80 displayed in FIG. 7 is transmitted to thepersonal computer as a source of the content.

Then, the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 receives the meta-informationtransmitted from the personal computer and replaces the undeterminedicons 80 with item icons 90 consisting of thumbnails of content andexplanations 91 on the screen 19D.

In FIG. 8, an icon 92 with “?” is for notifying the user that thecontent corresponding to the number 92 has been determined not to bephoto content on the basis of the received meta-information.

As described above, the network 50 according to this embodiment is basedon DLNA. Thus, when an information file is to be obtained from anotherapparatus through the network, it may be impossible to obtain only afile of photo content or a file of music content. In such a case, theabove-described icon 92 is displayed so as to notify the user that thefile does not belong to the category desired by the user.

<Description of the Process Performed in the Graphical User Interface>

Hereinafter, the process performed in the graphical user interface isfurther described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIGS. 9 to13, mainly about the process performed by the controller 1, whichcontrols a process in the graphical user interface described above. Inthe following description, the initial menu screen including thecategory-icon array 100 and the item-icon array 200 is called a “crossmenu”.

The broadcast receiving apparatus 10 according to this embodiment isconfigured so that a power-ON state and a standby state are switchedevery time a power key of the remote-control transmitter 23 is pressedwhile a main power switch is turned on. In the standby state, power issupplied to only a part that operates to return to the power-ON state.When the power key is operated and the state changes from the standbystate to the power-ON state, the state immediately before the standbystate (last state) returns.

In the following description, operation of the power key and othervarious buttons is performed on the remote-control transmitter 23 by auser. The controller 1 monitors signals transmitted from theremote-control receiver 24 so as to detect a key or a button operated onthe remote-control transmitter 23. In the following description,however, an expression “the controller 1 detects an operation on a keyor a button” is used for convenience.

When the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 according to this embodimentis in the standby state, the controller 1 constantly monitors anoperation on the power key, as shown in FIG. 9 (step S101). Afterdetecting in step S101 that the power key has been operated, thecontroller 1 displays a screen corresponding to the last state on thescreen 19D of the monitor display 19 and superimposes the cross menuthereon (step S102).

Then, the controller 1 determines whether the user has operated the homebutton (step S103). If determining that the home button has beenoperated, the controller 1 erases the superimposed cross menu from thescreen 19D (step S104).

Then, the controller 1 monitors an operation of the power key (stepS105). If the controller 1 detects an operation of the power key, thelast state is stored and the state returns to the standby state (stepS106), and this process routine ends.

If it is determined in step S105 that the power key has not beenoperated, whether the home button has been operated is determined (stepS107). If it is determined that the home button has not been operated,the process returns to step S105. If it is determined in step S107 thatthe home button has been operated, the controller 1 superimposes thecross menu on the screen 19D of the monitor display 19 (step S108), andthen the process returns to step S103.

If determining in step S103 that the home button has not been operated,the controller 1 determines whether a category changing operation hasbeen done with the right or left button of the remote-controltransmitter 23 on the graphical user interface including thesuperimposed cross menu (step S111 in FIG. 10).

If determining in step S111 that the category changing operation hasbeen done on the superimposed cross menu screen, the controller 1controls the display image generating/outputting unit 30 so as to changethe selected category icon on the cross menu screen in accordance withinstructions from the user and to change the item-icon array 200 so thatthe array 200 consists of item icons belonging to the newly-selectedcategory icon. At this time, the controller 1 recognizes the categorycorresponding to the selected category icon as a selected category (stepS112).

If it is determined in step S111 that the category changing operationhas not been done or after the selected category has been changed instep S112, the process proceeds to step S113. In step S113, thecontroller 1 determines whether the up or down button of theremote-control transmitter 23 has been operated so as to determinewhether the target item icon in the target area 200C belonging to theselected category has been changed in the item-icon array 200 in thecross menu.

If determining in step S113 that any of the up and down buttons of theremote-control transmitter 23 has been operated, the controller 1 allowsthe display image generating/outputting unit 30 to change the targetitem icon displayed in the target area 200C in the cross menu to an iconadjoining the current target item icon in the changed direction, andsets the item corresponding to the item icon that has been newlydisplayed in the target area 200C as a target item (step S114).

Then, the controller 1 determines whether the set button has beenoperated on the remote-control transmitter 23 (step 115). If determiningthat the set button has not been operated, the controller 1 determineswhether the up or down button on the remote-control transmitter 23 hasbeen operated so as to determine whether change of the target item iconin the target area 200C has been done in the item-icon array 200 in thecross menu (step S116).

If the controller 1 determines in step S116 that an operation ofchanging the target item icon in the target area 200C has beenperformed, the process returns to step S114, and the subsequent stepsare repeated.

If determining in step S116 that an operation of changing the targetitem icon in the target area 200C has not been performed, the controller1 determines whether the home button has been operated on theremote-control transmitter 23 (step S117). If the determining that thehome button has been operated, the controller 1 erases the superimposedcross menu from the screen 19D (step S118). Then, the process proceedsto step S105 in FIG. 9, and the subsequent steps are performed.

If the controller 1 determines in step S117 that the home button has notbeen operated, the process returns to step S111, and the subsequentsteps are repeated.

If determining in step S115 that the set button has been operated, thecontroller 1 determines whether the set item has lower-layer items (stepS121 in FIG. 11). If the item does not have lower-layer items, thecontroller 1 erases the cross menu from the screen 19D and executes thefunction or process of the current target item (step S122). Then, theprocess proceeds to step S105 in FIG. 9, and the subsequent steps areperformed.

If determining in step S121 that the item has lower-layer items, thecontroller 1 asks a source of the lower-layer items the number of thelower-layer items (step S123). Then, the controller 1 obtainsinformation about the total number of the lower-layer items transmittedfrom the source (step S124).

Then, the controller 1 recognizes the total number of undetermined icons80 to be displayed on the graphical user interface screen on the basisof the obtained information about the total number of the items, assignsnumbers to the respective undetermined icons 80, and displays the firstscreen shown in FIG. 4 by using the undetermined icons 80 (step S125).

Then, the controller 1 determines whether a target item icon changingoperation has been done (step S126). If determining that a target itemicon changing operation has been done, the controller 1 changes thetarget item icon to the specified item. At this time, an undeterminedicon 80 is displayed for a newly-displayed item, as shown in FIG. 6(step S127). Then, the process returns to step S126, and the subsequentsteps are repeated. Incidentally, the target item icon changingoperation in step S126 includes the above-described high-speed scroll.

If determining in step S126 that the target item icon changing operationhas not been performed, the controller 1 determines whether the targetitem icon has been kept unchanged for a predetermined time T or more(step S128).

If the controller 1 determines in step S128 that the target item iconhas been kept unchanged for less than the predetermined time T, theprocess returns to step S126, and the subsequent steps are repeated.

If determining in step S128 that the target item icon has been keptunchanged for the predetermined time T or more, the controller 1determines whether meta-information about all of the items displayed asundetermined icons on the screen is stored in the cache buffer (stepS129).

If determining in step S129 that meta-information about all of the itemsdisplayed as undetermined icons on the screen is stored in the cachebuffer, the controller 1 obtains the meta-information about all of thecorresponding items from the cache buffer (step S130). Then, thecontroller 1 erases the undetermined icons 80 and displays item icons 90showing details by using the obtained meta-information (step S131).

If determining in step S129 that meta-information about not all of theitems displayed as the undetermined icons on the screen is stored in thecache buffer, the controller 1 determines whether meta-information aboutpart of the items of the undetermined icons is stored in the cachebuffer (step S141 in FIG. 12).

If determining in step S141 that meta-information about part of theitems of the undetermined icons is stored in the cache buffer, thecontroller 1 reads and obtains the meta-information about part of theitems from the cache buffer (step S142). Also, the controller 1transmits a request for obtaining meta-information about the other itemsto a source of the lower-layer items (step S143). Then, the controller 1obtains the meta-information about the other items transmitted from thesource of the lower-layer items (step S145).

If determining in step S141 that the cache buffer does not store themeta-information about the items of the displayed undetermined icons,the controller 1 transmits a request for obtaining the meta-informationabout all of the items displayed as the undetermined icons on the screento the source of the lower-layer items (step S144). Then, the controller1 obtains the meta-information transmitted from the source of thelower-layer items (step S145).

After step S145, the controller 1 determines whether the cache bufferhas a free area (step S146). If there is no free area, the controller 1deletes an old piece of the meta-information stored in the cache bufferso as to generate a desired free area (step S147).

If the controller 1 determines in step S146 that the cache buffer has afree area or after a free area has been generated in the cache buffer instep S147, the process proceeds to step S148, where the controller 1writes and temporarily stores the meta-information obtained from thesource of the lower-layer items in the free area of the cache buffer(step S148).

After the meta-information has been temporarily stored in the cachebuffer in step S148, the controller 1 erases the undetermined icons 80and displays item icons 90 showing details corresponding to the itemsrepresented by the undetermined icons 80 by using the meta-informationobtained in steps S142 and S145 (step S131 in FIG. 11).

After step S131, the controller 1 determines whether the set button hasbeen operated on the remote-control transmitter 23 (step S151 in FIG.13). If the controller 1 determines that the set button has beenoperated, the process returns to step S121 in FIG. 11, and thesubsequent steps are repeated.

If determining in step S151 that the set button has not been operated,the controller 1 determines whether the return button has been operatedon the remote-control transmitter 23 (step S152). If determining thatthe return button has been operated, the controller 1 controls thedisplay image generating/outputting unit 30 so that the cross menuscreen is returned to the previous state (step S153).

Then, the controller 1 determines whether the screen displayed beforethe set button is pressed is the initial menu screen shown in FIG. 3(step S154). If the previous screen is the initial menu screen, theprocess returns to step S111 shown in FIG. 10, and the subsequent stepsare repeated. If the previous screen is not the initial menu screen butis a menu screen of the immediately upper layer, the process returns tostep S125 shown in FIG. 11, and the subsequent steps are repeated.

If determining in step S152 that the return button has not beenoperated, the controller 1 determines whether the home button has beenoperated (step S155). If determining that the home button has beenoperated, the controller 1 erases the superimposed cross menu from thescreen 19D (step S156). Then, the process proceeds to step S105 shown inFIG. 9, and the subsequent steps are performed.

If the controller 1 determines in step S155 that the home button has notbeen operated, the process returns to step S126 and the subsequent stepsare repeated.

In the above-described embodiment, the source of content is the personalcomputer 60. If the source of content is the server 70, the process inthe graphical user interface can be performed in the same way as thatdescribed above.

In the above-described embodiment, meta-information about only the itemscorresponding to the undetermined icons displayed on the screen afterchange of the target item has stopped is obtained from the sourcethrough the network. On the other hand, in another embodiment describedbelow, a request for obtaining meta-information about unobtained itemsis transmitted to the source through the network and the obtainedmeta-information is written in the cache buffer during an idling timewhen the user does not perform change of the target item or otheroperations.

According to this method, when the target item is changed little bylittle, the possibility that meta-information about items that are newlydisplayed as undetermined icons is stored in the cache buffer becomeshigh. Thus, switching from the undetermined icons 80 to thecorresponding item icons 90 can be quickly performed.

Hereinafter, a process according to this embodiment is described. Thisprocess is basically the same as that of the embodiment described abovewith reference to the flowchart shown in FIGS. 9 to 13. The differencetherebetween is that the flowchart shown in FIG. 11 is replaced by theflowchart shown in FIG. 14, and that the flowchart shown in FIG. 13 isreplaced by the flowchart shown in FIG. 15. The others are totally thesame as in the above-described embodiment, and thus the correspondingdescription is omitted.

The respective steps shown in FIG. 14 are the same as those shown inFIG. 11. However, the connection between FIGS. 11 and 13 is differentfrom that between FIGS. 14 and 15. That is, in FIGS. 11 and 13, theprocess returns from step S155 in FIG. 13 to step S126 in FIG. 11.However, such return to step S126 does not exist in FIG. 14. In FIG. 14,return to step S129, which does not exist in FIG. 11, is provided.Except these points, FIG. 11 is totally the same as FIG. 14.

On the other hand, FIG. 15 is significantly different from FIG. 13.Hereinafter, the flowchart shown in FIG. 15 is described.

After step S131 shown in FIG. 14, where the undetermined icons areerased and item icons showing details are displayed, the controller 1determines whether a target item icon changing operation has beenperformed (step S161 in FIG. 15).

If determining in step S161 that the target item icon changing operationhas been performed, the controller 1 changes the target item to thespecified item. At this time, undetermined icons 80 are displayed fornewly-displayed items, as shown in FIG. 6 (step S162). The target itemicon changing operation performed in step S161 includes theabove-described high-speed scroll.

Then, the controller 1 determines whether the operation of changing thetarget item icon has stopped and whether the target item icon has beenkept unchanged for a predetermined time T or more (step S163). If thecontroller 1 determines in step S163 that the target item icon has beenkept unchanged for less than the predetermined time T, the processreturns to step S162, and step S162 is repeated.

If the controller 1 determines in step S163 that the target item iconhas been kept unchanged for the predetermined time T or more, theprocess returns to step S129 shown in FIG. 14, and the subsequent stepsare repeated.

If determining in step S161 that the user has not performed an targetitem icon changing operation, the controller 1 determines whether theset button has been operated on the remote-control transmitter 23 (stepS164). If the controller 1 determines that the set button has beenoperated, the process returns to step S121 shown in FIG. 14 and thesubsequent steps are repeated.

If determining in step S164 that the set button has not been operated,the controller 1 determines whether the return button has been operatedon the remote-control transmitter 23 (step S165). If determining thatthe return button has been operated, the controller 1 controls thedisplay image generating/outputting unit 30 so that the superimposedcross menu screen is returned to the previous state (step S166).

Then, the controller 1 determines whether the screen displayed beforethe set is pressed is the initial menu screen show in FIG. 3 (stepS167). If the controller 1 determines that the previous screen is theinitial menu screen, the process returns to step S111 shown in FIG. 10and the subsequent steps are repeated. If the controller 1 determines instep S167 that the previous screen is not the initial menu screen but isa menu screen of the immediately upper layer, the process returns tostep S125 shown in FIG. 14 and the subsequent steps are repeated.

If determining in step S165 that the return button has not beenoperated, the controller 1 determines whether the home button has beenoperated (step S168). If determining that the home button has beenoperated, the controller 1 erases the superimposed cross menu from thescreen 19D (step S169). Then, the process proceeds to step S105 shown inFIG. 9 and the subsequent steps are performed.

If determining in step S168 that the home button has not been operated,the controller 1 transmits a request for obtaining meta-informationabout unobtained items of the layer to a source of the items. Then, thecontroller 1 receives the meta-information from the source and writes itin the cache buffer (step S170). In this case, the meta-informationabout the subsequent items of the currently displayed item is obtained.

Then, the process returns to step 161 and the subsequent steps arerepeated.

In the above-described embodiments, a request for obtainingmeta-information is transmitted to the source only if the target itemicon has been kept unchanged for the predetermined time T.Alternatively, the request may be transmitted immediately after changeof the target item icon has stopped.

In the above-described embodiments, the total number of items isobtained immediately before a list of the items is displayed.Alternatively, information about the total number of items may beobtained at regular intervals or at an appropriate timing through thenetwork. Note that, if there is only one layer, the total number ofitems of only the layer may be obtained, but if there are a plurality oflayers, the total number of items of each layer is obtained.

In the above-described embodiments, representation images of contenttransmitted from an apparatus through a network are displayed.Alternatively, representation images may be displayed by obtainingmeta-information for displaying the representation images from a mediastorage included in the electronic apparatus. This method isparticularly effective when much time takes to obtain meta-informationfrom the media storage included in the electronic apparatus and when itis difficult to quickly display the representation images.

In the above-described embodiments, an item icon belonging to a categoryicon has lower-layer items, and representation images representing thelower-layer items are displayed. Also, an embodiment of the presentinvention can be applied to a case where item icons belonging to acategory icon are displayed after the selected category icon has beenchanged.

That is, an embodiment can be applied to a case where categories aremedia connected to a network and functions such as applications providedby a plurality of electronic apparatuses connected to the network aredisplayed as a category menu on the screen.

Items to be selected represented by item icons or thumbnails may includeother types of content, e.g. an electronic book and a game program. Inthe example shown in the figures, the representation images consist oficons including a figure or a character, icons including a channelnumber, or thumbnails of part of a broadcast program or the like. Othersymbols can also be used as the representation images.

The cache buffer is provided in the display data storing unit 29.However, the present invention is not limited to this manner, but thecache buffer may be provided in the controller 1.

In the above-described embodiments, a broadcast receiving apparatus isused as the electronic apparatus. However, the electronic apparatus isnot limited to the broadcast receiving apparatus, but any other type ofelectronic apparatus may be applied as long as the electronic apparatushas a plurality of categories each of which has a plurality ofprocessing functions in a lower layer, e.g., a recording/playbackapparatus for image data and audio data.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications to thepresently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent tothose skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present subjectmatter and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is thereforeintended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appendedclaims.

1. An electronic apparatus connected to a broadcast receiving apparatusand configured to: (a) display a portion of a plurality ofrepresentation images representing a plurality of items to be providedfrom a source in response to a request for representation imageinformation which is used to display the representation images, therepresentation images being provided to the broadcast receivingapparatus and through a network, the plurality of representation imagesbeing concurrently displayed on a screen in a line as items to beselected; and (b) change some of the plurality of representation imagesdisplayed on the screen in accordance with a user's operation inputthrough a user operation accepting unit, the electronic apparatuscomprising: a display device; a processor; and a memory device whichstores instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause theprocessor to operate with the display device to: (a) obtain total numberinformation which indicates a total number of the items to be providedfrom the source; (b) concurrently display a plurality of undeterminedrepresentation images on the screen, the undetermined representationimages being generated based on said total number information so thatthe respective undetermined representation images correspond to thetotal number of the items to be provided; (c) determine whether: (i)change of the representation images displayed on the screen performed bythe user's operation has stopped; and (ii) a status of no changes hascontinued for more than a predetermined period of time; and (d) requestthe representation image information to display the representationimages from the source only if: (1) the change of the representationimages displayed on the screen performed by the user's operation hasstopped, and (2) the status of no changes has continued for more than apredetermined period of time, and after receiving the representationimage information from the source in response to the request, displaythe plurality of respective representation images, and wherein when in acontinuous change mode of the representation images or the undeterminedrepresentation images initiated by the user's operation, the electronicapparatus is configured to suspend requesting the representation imageinformation from the source.
 2. The electronic apparatus of claim 1,wherein when executed by the processor, the instructions cause theprocessor to, before the representation images representing therespective items to be provided from the source are displayed on thescreen in accordance with the user's operation: (a) ask the source thetotal number of the items to be provided; and (b) obtain informationabout the total number from the source.
 3. The electronic apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein when executed by the processor, the instructions causethe processor to assign numbers corresponding to the order of the itemsto be provided from the source to the undetermined representationimages.
 4. An electronic apparatus connected to a broadcast receivingapparatus and configured to: (a) display some of a plurality ofrepresentation images representing a plurality of items to be providedfrom a source in response to a request for representation imageinformation which is used to display the representation images, therepresentation images being provided to the broadcast receivingapparatus and through a network, the plurality of representation imagesbeing concurrently displayed on a screen in a line as items to beselected; and (b) change some of the plurality of representation imagesdisplayed on the screen in accordance with a user's operation inputthrough a user operation accepting unit, the electronic apparatuscomprising: a display device; a processor; and a memory device whichstores instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause theprocessor to operate with the display device to: (a) obtain total numberinformation which indicates a total number of the items to be providedfrom the source; (b) concurrently display a plurality of undeterminedrepresentation images on the screen, the undetermined representationimages being generated based on said total number information so thatthe respective undetermined representation images correspond to thetotal number of the items to be provided; (c) determine whether: (i)change of the representation images displayed on the screen performed bythe user's operation has stopped; and (ii) a status of no changes hascontinued for more than a predetermined period of time; (d) determinewhether the representation image information used to display therepresentation images on the screen has already been stored in a buffermemory; (e) if the determination is that the representation imageinformation used to display any of the representation images on thescreen has not already been stored in a buffer memory, request therepresentation image information from the source, the representationimage information being requested only if: (1) the change of therepresentation images displayed on the screen performed by the user'soperation has stopped, and (2) the status of no changes has continuedfor more than a predetermined period of time; (f) after therepresentation image information used to display the representationimages on the screen has been received, display the plurality ofrespective representation images; and (g) write any of therepresentation image information used to display the plurality ofrepresentation images obtained from the source in the buffer memory, andwherein when in a continuous change mode of the representation images orthe undetermined representation images initiated by the user'soperation, the electronic apparatus is configured to suspend requestingor obtaining the representation image information from the source. 5.The electronic apparatus of claim 4, wherein when executed by theprocessor, the instructions cause the processor to, if the buffer memorydoes not have any free area: (a) delete the oldest piece of therepresentation image information to display the representation images;and (b) write a newly-obtained piece of the representation imageinformation to display the representation images.
 6. The electronicapparatus of claim 4, wherein when executed by the processor, theinstructions cause the processor to, even when the user's operation isnot input through the user operation accepting unit: (a) obtain, fromthe source, the representation image information to display therepresentation images; and (b) write, in the buffer memory, saidobtained representation image information to display the representationimages.
 7. A display control method for an electronic apparatusconnected to a broadcast receiving apparatus and configured to: (a)display a portion of a plurality of representation images representing aplurality of items to be provided from a source in response to a requestfor representation image information which is used to display therepresentation images, the representation images being provided to thebroadcast receiving apparatus, said plurality of representation imagesbeing concurrently displayed on a screen in a line as items to beselected; and (b) change some of the plurality of representation imagesdisplayed on the screen in accordance with a user's operation inputthrough a user operation accepting unit, the display control methodcomprising: obtaining total number information from the source, whereinsaid total number information indicates a total number of the items tobe provided from the source; concurrently displaying a plurality ofundetermined representation images on the screen, the undeterminedrepresentation images being generated based on said total numberinformation so that the respective undetermined representation imagescorrespond to the total number of the items to be provided; determiningwhether: (i) change of the representation images displayed on the screenperformed by the user's operation has stopped; and (ii) a status of nochanges has continued for more than a predetermined period of time; andrequesting the representation image information from the source, therepresentation image information being requested only if: (1) the changeof the representation images displayed on the screen performed by theuser's operation has stopped, and (2) the status of no changes hascontinued for more than a predetermined period of time, and after therepresentation image information is received from the source, displayingthe plurality of respective representation images, and wherein when in acontinuous change mode of the representation images or the undeterminedrepresentation images initiated by the user's operation, the requestingor obtaining of the representation image information from the source issuspended.
 8. A display control method for an electronic apparatusconnected to a broadcast receiving apparatus and configured to: (a)display a portion of a plurality of representation images representing aplurality of items to be provided from a source in response to a requestfor representation image information which is used to display therepresentation images, the representation images being provided to thebroadcast receiving apparatus, the portion of the plurality ofrepresentation images being concurrently displayed on a screen in a lineas items to be selected; and (b) change some of the plurality ofrepresentation images displayed on the screen in accordance with auser's operation input through a user operation accepting unit, thedisplay control method comprising: obtaining total number informationwhich indicates a total number of the items to be provided from thesource; concurrently displaying a plurality of undeterminedrepresentation images on the screen, the undetermined representationimages being generated based on said total number information so thatthe respective undetermined representation images correspond to thetotal number of the items to be provided; determining whether: (a)change of the representation images displayed on the screen performed bythe user's operation has stopped; and (b) a status of no changes hascontinued for more than a predetermined period of time; determiningwhether the representation image information used to display theplurality of representation images on the screen has already been storedin a buffer memory if the determination is that the representation imageinformation used to display the representation images on the screen hasnot already been stored in a buffer memory, requesting therepresentation image information from the source, the representationimage information being requested only if: (1) the change of therepresentation images displayed on the screen performed by the user'soperation has stopped, and (2) the status of no changes has continuedfor more than a predetermined period of time; after the representationimage information has been received, displaying the plurality ofrespective representation images; and writing any of the representationimage information used to display the representation images obtainedfrom the source in the buffer memory, and wherein when in a continuouschange mode of the representation images or the undeterminedrepresentation images initiated by the user's operation, the requestingor obtaining of the representation image information from the source issuspended.
 9. A graphical user interface in which some of a plurality ofrepresentation images representing a plurality of items to be providedfrom a source in response to a request for representation imageinformation which is used to display the representation images, therepresentation images being provided to a broadcast receiving apparatusand through a network are concurrently displayed in a line as items tobe selected and some of the plurality of representation images displayedare changed in accordance with a user's operation, the graphical userinterface comprising: a display device configured to display: (a) aplurality of undetermined representation images which are concurrentlydisplayed, the plurality of undetermined representation images beinggenerated based on obtained total number information so that therespective undetermined representation images correspond to the totalnumber of the items to be provided, the total number information beingindicative of a total number of the items to be provided from thesource; and (b) representation images, the representation images beingdisplayed based on the representation image information which isreceived in response to the request of the representation imageinformation from the source, the representation image information beingrequested only if: (1) it is determined that change of therepresentation images displayed on the display device performed by theuser's operation has stopped, and (2) that the status of no changes hascontinued for more than a predetermined period of time, and after therepresentation image information is received from the source, theplurality of representation images are displayed, and wherein when in acontinuous change mode of the representation images or the undeterminedrepresentation images initiated by the user's operation, the requestingor obtaining of the representation information from the source issuspended.
 10. A graphical user interface in which some of a pluralityof representation images representing a plurality of items to beprovided from a source in response to a request for representation imageinformation which is used to display the representation images, therepresentation images being provided to a broadcast receiving apparatusand through a network are concurrently displayed in a line as items tobe selected and some of the plurality of representation images displayedare changed in accordance with a user's operation, the graphical userinterface comprising: a display device configured to display: (a) aplurality of undetermined representation images which are concurrentlydisplayed, the plurality of undetermined representation images beinggenerated based on obtained total number information so that therespective undetermined representation images correspond to the totalnumber of the items to be provided, the total, number information beingindicative of a total number of the items to be provided from thesource; and (b) representation images, the representation images beingdisplayed based on representation image information, wherein if adetermination is made that the representation image information has notalready been stored in a buffer memory, the representation imageinformation is requested from the source, the representation imageinformation being requested only if: (1) it is determined that change ofthe representation images displayed on the screen performed by theuser's operation has stopped, and (2) the status of no changes hascontinued for more than a predetermined period of time, and after therepresentation image information is received, the representation imagesare displayed, and wherein when in a continuous change mode of therepresentation images or the undetermined representation imagesinitiated by the user's operation, the requesting or obtaining of therepresentation image information from the source is suspended.
 11. Adisplay control program allowing a computer to function, the displaycontrol program comprising: total-number obtaining means for obtainingtotal-number information from a source, the total-number informationbeing provided to a broadcast receiving apparatus and through a network,wherein said total-number information indicates a total number of itemsto be provided from said source; first display means for concurrentlydisplaying a plurality of undetermined representation images on ascreen, the plurality of undetermined representation images beinggenerated based on the total number information obtained by thetotal-number obtaining means so that the respective undeterminedrepresentation images correspond to the total number of the items to beprovided; determining means for determining whether: (a) change of therepresentation images displayed on the screen performed by a user'soperation has stopped; and (b) a status of no changes has continued formore than a predetermined period of time; second display means forconcurrently displaying representation images, the representation imagesbeing displayed based on representation image information which isreceived in response to a request for the representation imageinformation from the source, the representation image information beingrequested only if: (1) the determining means determines that change ofthe representation images displayed on the screen performed by theuser's operation has stopped, and (2) the status of no changes hascontinued for more than the predetermined period of time, and after therepresentation image information has been received from the source, therespective plurality of representation images are displayed by thesecond display means, the representation images: (a) representing aplurality of items to be provided from the source on the screen in aline as items to be selected; and (b) being changeable in accordancewith a user's operation input through a user operation accepting unit,and wherein when in a continuous change mode of the representationimages or the undetermined representation images initiated by the user'soperation, the requesting or obtaining of the representation imageinformation from the source is suspended.
 12. A display control programallowing a computer to function, the display control program comprising:total-number obtaining means for obtaining total-number information froma source, the total-number information being provided to a broadcastreceiving apparatus and through a network, wherein said total-numberinformation indicates a total number of items to be provided from saidsource; first display means for concurrently displaying a plurality ofundetermined representation images on a screen, the plurality ofundetermined representation images being generated based on the totalnumber information obtained by the total-number obtaining means so thatthe respective undetermined representation images correspond to thetotal number of the items to be provided; first determining means fordetermining whether: (a) change of the representation images displayedon the screen performed by a user's operation has stopped; and (b) astatus of no changes has continued for more than a predetermined periodof time; second determining means for determining whether representationimage information which is used to display some of the representationimages to be newly displayed on the screen has already been stored in abuffer memory, wherein if the determining means determines that therepresentation image information has not already been stored in thebuffer memory, then the representation image information is received inresponse to a request for the representation image information from thesource, the representation image information being requested only if:(1) the first determining means determines that change of the pluralityof representation images displayed on the screen performed by the user'soperation has stopped, and (2) the status of no changes has continuedfor more than the predetermined period of time; second display means forconcurrently displaying the plurality of respective representationimages by obtaining: (a) the representation image information stored inthe buffer memory; and (b) the representation image information that hasnot been stored in the buffer memory from the source; and writing meansfor writing the representation image information to display theplurality of representation images obtained from the source in thebuffer memory, in order to: (a) concurrently display some of therepresentation images representing a plurality of items to be providedfrom the source on the screen in a line as items to be selected; and (b)change some of the plurality of representation images displayed on thescreen in accordance with a user's operation input through a useroperation accepting unit, wherein when in a continuous change mode ofthe representation images or the undetermined representation imagesinitiated by the user's operation, the requesting or obtaining therepresentation image information from the source is suspended.
 13. Anelectronic apparatus connected to a broadcast receiving apparatus andconfigured to: (a) concurrently display some of a plurality ofrepresentation images representing a plurality of items to be providedfrom a source in response to a request for representation imageinformation which is used to display the representation images, therepresentation images being provided to the broadcast receivingapparatus and through a network on a screen in a line as items to beselected; and (b) change some of the plurality of representation imagesdisplayed on the screen in accordance with a user's operation inputthrough a user operation accepting unit, the electronic apparatuscomprising: a total-number obtaining unit configured to obtaintotal-number information from the source, wherein said total-numberinformation indicates a total number of the items to be provided fromthe source; a first display unit configured to concurrently display aplurality of undetermined representation images on the screen, theundetermined representation images being generated based on said totalnumber information so that the respective plurality of undeterminedrepresentation images correspond to the total number of the items to beprovided; a determining unit configured to determine whether: (i) changeof the representation images displayed on the screen performed by theuser's operation has stopped; and (ii) a status of no changes hascontinued for more than a predetermined period of time; and a seconddisplay unit configured to display the representation images, therepresentation images being displayed based on the representation imageinformation which is received in response to the request for therepresentation image information from the source, the representationimage information being requested only if: (1) the determining unitdetermines that change of the representation images displayed on thescreen performed by the user's operation has stopped, and (2) the statusof no changes has continued for more than the predetermined period oftime, and after the representation image information is received fromthe source, the representation images are displayed by the seconddisplay unit, wherein when in a continuous change mode of therepresentation images or the undetermined representation imagesinitiated by the user's operation, the electronic apparatus isconfigured to suspend requesting or obtaining the information to displaythe representation images from the source.
 14. An electronic apparatusconnected to a broadcast receiving apparatus and configured to: (a)concurrently display some of a plurality of representation imagesrepresenting a plurality of items to be provided from a source inresponse to a request for information which is used to display therepresentation images, the representation images being provided to thebroadcast receiving apparatus and through a network on a screen in aline as items to be selected; and (b) change some of the plurality ofrepresentation images displayed on the screen in accordance with auser's operation input through a user operation accepting unit, theelectronic apparatus comprising: a total-number obtaining unitconfigured to obtain total-number information from the source, whereinsaid total-number information indicates a total number of the items tobe provided from the source; a first display unit configured toconcurrently display a plurality of undetermined representation imageson the screen, the undetermined representation images being generatedbased on said total number information obtained by the total-numberobtaining unit so that the respective undetermined representation imagescorrespond to the total number of the items to be provided; a firstdetermining unit configured to determine whether: (a) change of theplurality of representation images displayed on the screen performed bythe user's operation has stopped; and (b) a status of no changes hascontinued for more than a predetermined period of time; a seconddetermining unit configured to determine whether representation imageinformation which is used to display some of the plurality ofrepresentation images to be newly displayed on the screen has alreadybeen stored in a buffer memory, wherein if the second determining unitdetermines that the representation image information has not alreadybeen stored in a buffer memory representation image information, thenthe representation image information is received in response to therequest for the representation image information from the source, therepresentation image information being requested only if: (1) the firstdetermining means determines that change of the plurality ofrepresentation images displayed on the screen performed by the user'soperation has stopped, and (2) the status of no changes has continuedfor more than the predetermined period of time; a second display unitconfigured to concurrently display the plurality of respectiverepresentation images by obtaining: (a) the representation imageinformation stored in the buffer memory; and (b) the representationimage information that has not been stored in the buffer memory from thesource; and a writing unit configured to write the representation imageinformation to display the representation images obtained from thesource in the buffer memory, wherein when in a continuous change mode ofthe representation images or the undetermined representation imagesinitiated by the user's operation, the electronic apparatus isconfigured to suspend requesting or obtaining the information to displaythe representation images from the source.
 15. The electronic apparatusof claim 1, wherein when executed by the processor, the instructionscause the processor to display the undetermined representation images inresponse to said representation images being unable to be displayedbased on high-speed scroll.
 16. The electronic apparatus of claim 1,wherein the broadcast receiving apparatus includes a broadcast receiverselected from the group consisting of an analog terrestrial broadcastreceiver, a digital terrestrial broadcast receiver, a BS broadcastreceiver, and a CS broadcast receiver.
 17. The electronic apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the undetermined representation images do not visuallycorrespond to the respective representation images.
 18. The electronicapparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the undetermined representationimages include a different symbol that corresponds with a storing orderor a reading order of the items to be provided from the source.
 19. Theelectronic apparatus of claim 18, wherein the symbols are numbers.